Of Kittens And Second Chances
by GorgonaGranger
Summary: "I've never been a cats person but, something tells me that it'd be wise to make an exception with you" said Hook staring at the animal's eyes. Who would have guessed that getting a new pet would change his life? Specially when the so called pet turns out to be an actual person. Rated T for safety. Hook/OC/Dr.Whale
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is my first story about Once upon a time so I hope that you all like it. It is set in the third season so sorry for any kind of spoiler.**

**And here it is ;D**

* * *

"_What the hell is that noise?" _ thought Gwen as she slowly opened her eyes and frowned at the white ceiling above her head.

The sound was piercing enough to make her think her ears would start bleeding. She covered them with her hands hoping to muffle the sound. Dizzy and confused, she let her eyes wander around the room. White floor, white walls, white ceiling, everything was painted with an annoyingly white color that made the room feel cold and heartless.

She noticed her breathing rising up quickly as well as her heartbeats. She didn't know why but, the more she saw the more anxious she felt. It was as if she was somehow prisoner with the white room as her cell.

"I can't, I can't take it, make it stop!" she cried when the sound grew louder. She stood on her feet, not steady at all and tried to reach the outside. However, she couldn't take more than two steps before she lost her balance and went to the floor.

Surprisingly, once her body landed on the cold floor the sound halted. Just like that. But she didn't even had the time to feel relieved because several people came in rushing. Gwen tried to focus her eyes on those strangers, uncertain of who they might be when she felt herself being lifted from the ground by a pair of strong, warm hands that steadied her.

Still feeling a bit hazy she heard their voices but didn't really understand what they were actually saying. She didn't know what was wrong with her.

"Miss, are you all right?" said the one that was keeping her from falling again. She took in a deep breath before nodding.

"What was she doing on the floor?" whispered a woman's voice from in front of her.

"Don't ask me, love" replied another voice. A voice that she thought she had forgotten long ago. A voice that drew out all the anger she had gathered during many years.

"You!" she roared before rushing towards him with her hands ready to twist his neck. That took everyone off guard so they couldn't stop her before she got hold of him.

However, she was pulled away before she could make any harm.

"Get off of me!" cried her to whoever was holding her. They both struggled a while until she felt a jab in her arm which caused everything to go blurred.

* * *

"What the hell was all that about?" said Emma still trying to catch her breath after her little struggle.

"As I said, don't ask me" said Hook rubbing his throat. The girl was stronger than she looked.

"Well, clearly she knows you" said Emma before adding mockingly "Which would explain why she tried to kill you"

"Ha ha, very funny Swan"

"If what you said is true-"

"Which it is" said Hook annoyed and causing Emma to roll her eyes.

"-then we need to ask her what happened to her, I mean she was found in the middle of the woods. Naked" finished her, unable to find an explanation.

"I don't want to interrupt but I think we have bigger issues" said Dr. Whale that had remained quite till now.

"Like what?" asked Emma confused.

"Well, aside from the fact that she awoke with still enough sedatives in her system to knock out a strong adult, she had claws" he said pointing at Hook's neck where the smallest scratches had started to bleed.

"Claws? As in cat's claws?" said Emma both skeptical and surprised.

"I believe so, and fangs. Didn't you see them?" asked him to the pirate.

"Sorry mate, I was too busy with her strangling me" replied Hook with sarcasm dripping off of his voice.

"So, what? You're telling that she's some kind of super Hello Kitty?" said Emma.

"Maybe more like a were kitty. I think she might have some similarities with Ruby's thing" said Whale amused with the picture he had made in his head.

"Okay so, how much time do we have before she wakes up?" asked Emma.

"No clue. Could be hours, minutes... she sure has enough sedatives to put an elephant to sleep but..." replied Whale shrugging.

"In that case, I guess it'd be smart to call for some back ups" and so, Emma picked her phone and hoped for them to arrive soon. She didn't want to face the girl alone again, even though she was handcuffed to the bed.

* * *

She didn't know how long she had been out but when she opened her eyes, she sensed many eyes staring at her. She raised on the bed ready to jump out of it but something was holding her. She looked down and saw her hands tied up to the bed by some strange metal ring strong enough to resist her pulling.

"What's this? Why can't I break them?" asked Gwen angrily to no one in particular.

"That must have been me I'm afraid" said a woman with black hair "I enchanted them"

Gwen sighed and let her head fall against the pillow, suddenly feeling quite exhausted. She looked at the people around her one by one.

There was the black haired woman, who was eying her with a calculating look that made her go stiff. Then, there was a blond woman that seemed more than ready to jump on her. Beside her, there was a couple, a blond man and a pregnant woman with really short hair. And then, half hidden in a corner was the man that cost her half of her life.

He looked just like the first day that she saw him, many years ago. Inside her, she felt an uprising rage that heated her entire body. She really had accumulated a great deal of bloodlust against him.

"You" she hissed with a growl in the bottom of her throat.

"Aye love, it's me" replied him with a mocking bow and a raised eyebrow "And now that we've left it clear that you know me, how about you tell us who are you?" that made her frown, confused and irritated.

"You don't remember me...at all?" she asked hesitating.

"I doubt I would ever forget someone like you" he said with a tone that she knew far too well. He was trying to charm her, the bastard. Gwen stared at him, weighting the pros and cons of telling him the truth.

"Fine, I'll tell you who I am but first, free me" she said showing her wrists.

"Not gonna happen" said the dark haired woman with a superior look that annoyed her a lot.

"Then I guess that we're done here" she said with a challenging smile that left the woman with her mouth opened outraged. The pregnant woman chuckled discretely before approaching her.

"Look..." she started waiting for her name.

"Gwen"

"Gwen, we just want to make sure that you're okay and that you aren't a threat to this town" she said giving her a warm smile. Like a mother's, that made her relax a bit in her bed.

"I'm-, I was a musician" she made a long pause before continuing "A musician of Bremen"

"Wait, you mean Bremen? As in The town musician of Bremen?" asked the blond woman. She just nodded but didn't say a word.

"But, the band was formed by a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster. There wasn't any human" said one of them.

"I never said I was human" replied Gwen with a wry smile. Her head filling with unwanted memories.

"Then what are you?"

"Just an unlucky girl who annoyed the wrong person" mumbled her with a dry laugh. When none of them seemed to follow her, she sighed and added "I was a small girl when I bumped into a girl from my village not much older than me. I tried to apologize but she started to yell at me and said that I was an animal and the next thing I remember is actually being one" she shrugged and tried to swallow the knot that had formed in her throat. Just like every other time that she thinks of that. Next to her, the pregnant woman gasped with a worried look on her face.

"But, who was that girl? And what did you do afterwards?"

"Well I didn't really know her, but I think that her name was Cora or something like that" everyone in the room stared at each other, sharing the same thought, which made her realize that they were aware of who she was talking about. However, she decided to let that go, for now. "And well after that, I tried to speak to my parents and well, you can imagine how that ended up. So I run away before my entire village could kill me, and hid in the woods for a while till I found out that I was able to actually talk to the other animals"

"For real?" asked the blond woman quite amused.

"Yeah, so I found this abandoned farm where I spent a couple of days until some animals came in and well, we started to talk and I'm not sure how but we ended up playing instruments"

"But, you said that you weren't any of the animals that the tale talks about" pointed out the dark haired woman.

"And I wasn't. I was kicked out of the band before their first show"

"Why?" asked the man.

"Well it might have something to do with the fact that I nearly ate one of them" she said smiling a bit at that particular memory. When they remained quite and just stared at her stunned, she looked her hands feeling embarrassed "What? I was hungry and I couldn't control my instincts"

In the corner, Hook laughed out loud getting everyone's attention.

"Oh you sure are a box full of surprises, love" he pretended to shed one tear with his hook and grinned at her the way he used to a long time ago.

"Ignore him" said the pregnant woman "I was wondering, which animal were you?"

"A tiger"

"So it was wild Kitty then" said the blond woman. Gwen looked at her confused "It's just a...nevermind"

"Okay, so, I did my part of the deal. Release me" Gwen said more relaxed.

"Deal? What deal? I don't remember agreeing in such thing" said the dark haired woman that was starting to annoy her more than she should.

"Look woman-"

"It's Regina you beast" she cut her in "Show some respect for your queen"

"Queen? As in the Evil Queen?" she asked trying to clear her mind.

"In flesh and bones" the so called queen, bowed with a smirk in her face.

"If you're the Queen, they must be...?"

"Simple peasants" replied Regina quickly in a mocking tone.

"I'm Snow White and these are my husband, David and my daughter Emma" said the pregnant woman.

"But didn't you-?" she started utterly confused.

"It's a complicated and long story. Let's just say that we're all in the same team now" she explained with a smile.

"All right. So about my freedom, why aren't you letting me go?" she asked directly to Snow.

"Well you said you weren't able to control your instincts, so I think it might be a good idea to wait for a while until we figure out something" she answered in an apologetic tone.

"And you're just going to leave me chained here till you please? I am no threat" she complained.

"I can't agree with you love. My throat says otherwise."

"Oh please, it was just a scratch. Don't be a wimp" she said not even bothering to look at him. The rest of the people tried to suffocate their laughs. Not very good.

"Either way, you staying here will be for the best. Plus, you still need to tell us how do you know Hook and why do you want to kill him" said Emma before she left the room. The others said goodbye and left as well, leaving her alone in that white room.

She really loathed white.

* * *

**Okay so this was the end of it! I hope that you liked it and please leave some comments to let me know if it is worth continuing or not. And if you found any mistake tell me so that I can fix it. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**C.A.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! So here's the next chapter! **

**I hope that you like it and thank you so much for the reviews! And basically for taking the time for reading it :D**

**And if you find any mistake please tell me so that I can fix them.**

**Thanks ;D**

* * *

"_It can't be her " _thought Hook once he arrived to the Jolly Roger _"It would be far too twisted, even for Destiny" _

Sitting on the deck, he looked up to the dark and cloudless sky, searching for a star that once used to guid him. It was one of the, if not the most, brightest of them all. For years, he would seek for it to help him sail through the seas.

However, now it only made him remember of another time in which things were far easier than they seemed now. He rummaged in his pocket, desperate to find the one single thing that had helped him bear with the decisions he had made throughout his life.

"Hello there" he mumbled staring at the flask in his hands. He was about to have a drink when he heard footsteps, so he grabbed his sword ready to face whoever that was stupid enough to try to sneak into his ship. Nevertheless, when he saw who was his late night visitor he let out a tired sigh and put his sword back into its hold.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, mate?" he asked before giving another sip to his drink.

"Well I was walking nearby and I thought I could...visit" said Robin not sounding convinced at all. Hook stared at him rising his brow in disbelief.

"They called you to check on me, didn't they?"

"Yeah" replied him grinning and sitting next to him. He took his flask and gave a long drink "They were worried. They told me that you didn't seem much like yourself after leaving the hospital" Hook chuckled dryly.

"Well, well, who would've guessed that the heroes would care for a villain like me" he said bitterly.

"You're no villain Hook. You've proven that many times" said his partner handing him the flask.

"Oh, but I've been" he gave a long sip before continuing "And every time I start to think that I might be one of the good guys, something reminds me how dark and hopeless my heart really is"

"What was this time?" asked Robin unsure that he would answer him. Hook fixed his gaze on the sky once more and took in a deep breath before answering:

"The girl you and your merry men found in the woods"

"The girl? What's with her?" asked him confused.

"She was not a girl when I met her" his head began to fill with hundreds of memories, and even though he was not used to share private things with others, he felt like sharing those particular memories would do some good to his conscience.

* * *

"_It was the second ship that h__e__ and his crew had __boarded during the last week, and this one had been particularly hard to gain. _

_Apparently, they had been men from a circus or something like that, regarding all the stuff they were carrying on board. And they sure knew how to put on a fight._

"_Captain" called him Mr. Smee from behind "I think that you might want to see what the guys found"_

_They both walked to where his men were gathered. Once he saw what they had been staring at, he couldn't help but do the same._

_It was a tiger. A caged, beautiful tiger that seemed almost asleep. Confused, he stepped closer and saw the dry blood on its fur._

"_What have they done to you, mate?" he whispered feeling sorry for the poor animal. Suddenly, the animal opened its eyes, __causing everyone to take a step back._

"_It's alive" said surprised Mr. Smee. The rest of the men started to whisper between them without taking their eyes off of the awaken animal._

"_You're a tough one, aren't you?" said Hook kneeling before the cage, happy to see that it wasn't dead. The animal just looked at him with its yellow eyes that seemed to have seen more than one could've seen in many lives._

_Then, something inside Killian craved for the animal. He wanted to take care of it. Maybe he could even be a good friend to him. The heavens knew how much he needed one after what happened to Milah._

"_You know, I've never been a cats person really but, something tells me that it'd be wise to make an exception with you" he said to the animal, knowing that he wouldn't understand. But something in the way its eyes stared at him made him query that last thought._

"_Captain?" said one of the men, maybe thinking that their captain had gone nuts as he was talking to a tiger._

"_Mr. Smee! I want you to take our friend here to our ship" he commanded and started to head to the "Jolly Rogers"._

"_B-But Captain, wouldn't it be...dangerous?" asked the little man hesitating. Hook stopped and turned to face him with his brow up._

"_Mr. Smee I know that you're practically new here but, __I will remind you the one simple rule I ask my crew to follow: I give an order and you, my friend, follow it. Did I make myself clear?" the little man nodded several times with his eyes wide in fear. And after that, everyone went back to work."_

* * *

When he had finished, he gave one last sip to his flask. Neither of them talked for a long time until Robin tossed his hair absently.

"But I don't understand. You saved her, right? You two should be friends" he said sounding a bit puzzled.

"We were friends" he pointed out drunkly as he stood, not very steady, on his feet.

"Then what happened?"

"The same thing that happens to everyone around me. She got hurt" he could barely stand still so Robin grabbed his arm and helped him to get to his cabin.

"What could you have possibly done to hurt her so bad that she would try to kill you" he asked clueless when he left him on his bed.

"I trade her to get a free pass out of Neverland. I sold her to Pan" and after saying that, he looked at Robin with eyes full of regret and self-hatred and collapsed on the sheets thanks to the liquor.

Robin wished that the alcohol would help his friend to have a good night sleep as he doubt he would have many of them from now on.

* * *

**And this was it! I apologize for it being so short but I just couldn't bring myself to write more. **

**I hope that you liked it and if so or not please let me know. **

**Bye**

**C.A.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! **

**Here is the chapter, yay! I really hope that you all like it and please let me know if there's any maistake so that I can fix it. **

**Thanks so much for the support by the way, it means a lot :D**

**Question, who would you prefer for her to end up with? **

* * *

"You know it's pointless to hide when I can actually smell you" said Gwen with her eyes closed and a hint of a smile playing across her lips.

"I wasn't hiding" replied a man's voice. Gwen opened her eyes and fixed them on the stranger before her. He was tall, with short blond hair and a lazy smile on his face.

"Whatever" she said rolling her eyes and stretching but keeping a relaxed smile.

The man was wearing a white coat that made her wrinkle her nose, though. And he clearly must've sensed that, because he took it off before sitting on a chair next to her bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her as he checked a board at the button of her bed.

"Strangely good" she drawled "And happy. And good" she smiled at him with her eyes half closed.

"So you've said" he pointed out amused.

"'Cause I really am!" she tried to rise on her elbows but fell instead, giggling softly.

"I guess that would be the tranquilizers" he checked again the board "Which you've had double"

"Tranquelozers" she tried to mimic as though she was a little girl learning new words.

"Almost" he said amused at her _very _happy behavior. She clapped her hands and laughed pleased with his approval. He leaned slightly over her, causing her to yank back against her pillow, and any trace of a smile gone "It's okay" he said in a calm voice when he saw her eyes widening in fear "I'm just going to check on your heart, okay?" he felt the need to add.

Gwen looked in the depths of his blue eyes, trying to guess if he was being honest. There she saw many things, secrets and pain mixed with what she recognized was guilt but, not lies.

Slowly, she tried to relax, taking in and out deep breaths. He fixed his gaze on hers while he reached for his stethoscope. With gentle movements, he ran it along her chest focusing on her heartbeats.

"Right, now I need you to breath in..." she did as he said, still looking into his eyes "...and out"

They stayed like that for another moment, hearing each one's hearts. Although she didn't really need that thing he was using.

"Well, it seems that you're perfectly fine" he said once he was done, sending her a quick smile. He put his hands on his pockets and started to turn around to leave but, was stopped by her grip.

"If I'm fine, will I be able to leave?" she asked, hoping to get an affirmative answer. He avoided her gazed and opened his mouth but she cut him "Please don't lie to me"

He sighed in defeat and said "No, I'm afraid they won't" she loosened her grip on him, feeling weary and down.

"I guess it's for the best" she laid down on her side, giving him her back and whispered "After all I'm just a monster"

Behind her, Whale was struggling with himself. He felt the urge to comfort her, to tell her that she was no monster. He'd seen many of them, and she was most certainly not one of them. However, knowing that whatever he might said to her would not make any real difference, he told himself that he had to go. And he did but, not without looking at her one last time.

* * *

"I think we should let her go" said Ruby, supported by the quick nods of Mary Margaret.

"We can't keep her there as if she was a prisoner" said Dr. Hoper.

"Of course we can, I kept him on a coma for over twenty eight years" said Regina nodding towards David, who was with his arms around his wife "And he was no real threat" she added paying no attention to the stern glare the man was sending to her.

"She hasn't done anything wrong for us to think about her as a threat" said David.

"Yes she did. She attacked Hook" said Emma with her arms crossed "And two days ago she was a tiger"

"And? Everyone in here has attacked Hook, more than once" said Mary Margaret looking straight to her daughter and Regina, who just shifted their gazes.

"It's different-" started Emma but, was cut in by an annoyed Ruby "In what sense? That she has claws and fangs? May I remind you that not long ago I was just like her?" clearly, the subject they were dealing with was kind of tricky. Ruby, left the dinner outraged, followed by Mary Margaret. Emma tried to go after them, but Regina stopped her.

"You can apologize later, now we've got bigger issues to deal with" they stared at each other but then, Emma nodded and went back to her seat. Next to Regina, Robin was feeling quite distressed as he was between the sword and the wall. He didn't like to keep secrets from Gina, specially since she was such a fearsome enemy. But, on the other hand, Killian was his friend, and he didn't want to loose his trust. So there he was, struggling to decide whether he should or not tell them about the pirate's plan.

"I will not let that girl walk around my city if there's a chance of her being dangerous to my son" stated Regina. And that, was all Robin needed to decide that not saying something does not mean that he was actually lying, at least not if nobody asked him.

And so, there he sat, hearing them discuss that they wouldn't release her when in the meanwhile, someone was doing exactly the opposite thing.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing in here?" said Gwen to the man that had entered to her room. She could feel the anger taking control of her body; her nails turning into claws, her teeth into fangs and she even felt hair growing in the sides of her face.

Before her, the man raised his hand trying to shush her, which only made her more angry. She struggled with her handcuffs to free herself but stopped when he said:

"Rouge, stop" she stared at him, fighting to hold back her tears.

"You've got no right to call me like that" she hissed once she found her voice again. Memories of their time together filling her mind.

"I know, I know I screwed up but, that's why I'm here" he said in quick whispers "I'm going to help you, love"

"Yeah right" she said dismissing his last statement by rolling her eyes.

"I will, because despite what you may think, I keep my oaths" he said with his hook on his chest.

"Since when?" she said cuttingly.

He looked at her and said with a break in his voice "I once promised you that I would never let anyone cage you again, remember?" she shifted her gaze, not wanting to meet his stormy eyes "Remember?" he pressed when she didn't answer. She took in a deep breath and nodded.

"Well, you certainly did an awful job, you know?" she said, feeling her anger fade away, replaced by a sense of bitterness. She didn't care anymore about him, or at least she would try not to.

"Save your lovely comments for when we're out of here, will you?" he said as he tried to break her handcuffs. He let out a couple of curses that would have made a lady blush but, she was no lady and she had heard a great deal of curses while she stayed on his ship to feel embarrassed now.

She remained quite, laughing softly every now and then, each time he failed to open the handcuffs. So after his seventh try, she took pity on him and grabbed his hook, gaining a surprised -Hey!- and began to force the handcuffs with the tip of the metal. She smiled, pleased with herself when she heard the "click" that'd precede her freedom. Rubbing her wounded wrists she stood from the bed, a bit unsteady at first but soon regaining her balance.

Next to her, Hook was smiling with his brow up as he always did. "What?" she said uncomfortable with his gaze on her.

"Nothing, I just didn't know that talent of yours"

"Yeah well, I kind of couldn't do much things when I had paws" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You've always been this bitchy or is it just now?" he asked her in his deep voice sounding quite amused.

"Of course I have. It's not my problem that you didn't understand me" she said heading towards the door. Behind her, Hook just shook his head and followed her. When she hesitated about which turn she should take, he pushed her to the right with his palm on her back.

She moved away at his touch, just like any other animal that didn't trust humans would've done. For a fleeting moment, she looked scared to death with her eyes widened and her chest rising up and down in quick breaths. However, it was just a moment, because when she regained control, she kept walking as if nothing had happened.

He wanted to ask her about that. He wanted to know what had made her react like that at a mere touch. But he knew that she would not tell him anything, they weren't friends anymore.

And that thought was killing him.

"Which way?" she asked in a stern tone bringing him back from his thoughts.

"Left" and so they kept on walking, looking everywhere to make sure that nobody would see them. When they reached the exit doors, she rose her face to the sky and felt the cool air on it. With her eyes closed, she let her senses take control and started to hear every sound of the night, she smelled the characteristic scent of the place and then, when she opened her eyes again, she saw the dark street lit by the moonlight. It was just beautiful.

"We need to move love, or someone will see us" took the lead and she followed him to a quite dark corner.

"What now?" she asked unsure of what would come next. And when he didn't answer right away, she knew that he didn't have a clue either. Sighing, she tried to think of what could she do next.

One thing was clear in her mind, she was not going back to that ship with him. So she needed somewhere to hide till she could find a way to go back to the Enchanted Forest.

Suddenly, in her mind appeared an image. An image of a man that, strangely she felt that she could trust. For no reason, she felt herself eager to find him and maybe, just maybe, be able to feel again that sense of safeness that she once felt with Hook.

Determined with her decision, she asked him to lead her to where he lived, not without a confused look from him. He even seemed to be, disappointed with what she asked him. But she didn't care. Not anymore, she said to herself. Hoping that if she said it enough times she would actually believe it.

They walked through the empty streets until they reached a building. They both came in and when they were in front of the chosen door, Hook bended down to grab a key that was under a loosed plank.

He let her in and without entering, he looked deeply in her eyes and said:

"Good luck, Rouge" and he was gone before she even had the chance to admonish him.

* * *

It had been a hell of a day, and he just wanted to get home and sleep till his body couldn't take it any longer. He opened the door of his apartment and got in. Removing his jacket, he stretched his tired body and headed to the kitchen. He poured a shot of whiskey and went back to the living room, eager to plump down on his sofa.

And he was about to when his eyes spotted a woman, wearing a shirt, big enough to cover her body to her thighs, that he could only assume was his, and looking at him quite nervous and wringing her hands.

"Night, Doc" she said in a soft voice.

"_I must be dreaming, or drunk but, hell it's a damn good hallucination"_

* * *

**Well, and here is where it ends. Hope that you all liked it and please let me know if so or not. I'd appreciate it :D**

**Thanks for reading! **

**Bye**

**C.A.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! Sorry for the delay. I had lots of exams.  
**

**So here's the next chapter, and I hope that you all like it. **

**Thank you so much for the follows/favs and everything ;D And if you see any mistake please don't hesitate to tell me. I'll fix them.**

* * *

Time went by and the room remained as quiet as it had been for the last five minutes.

"Please, say something" begged Gwen as she could no longer stand the silence.

"Why are you wearing my shirt?" blurted out him with a raised brow. That took Gwen by surprise as she had been expecting something along the lines of "What the hell are you doing in my house?"

"Oh, amm, I saw it on the couch and I just...sorry" she blinked several times unsure of how to continue "I wanted to cover myself, I mean, the thing I had on had these holes in the back that showed pretty much everything so..._I took this"_she pointed at his shirt which was long enough to cover her till the thighs, couple of inches up from her knees.

She started to feel quite uncomfortable as he was just standing there, with his drink and far more calm than she had been expecting.

She was about to say something when the room filled with an annoying "beep". He reached for a small thing and looked at it.

"It's Regina" he said sounding tired and exasperated. She took a step closer and looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Please don't tell her I'm here" he sighed and put the thing on his ear.

"Yeah?" he suddenly pushed it away, rolling his eyes when the woman on the other end of the line started to yell. "Yes Regi-Madam Mayor" he gave a sip to his drink "No, I haven't seen her" she let out a relieved sigh "Yes, I'll call you if there's something new" he hung up and ended his drink "You owe me one. Big one"

"Thank you so much" she said.

"Oh don't thank me yet. Not a thing happens unseen in this town. At least not for her" he said.

"Well, I'm here" said her trying to prove him wrong.

"Yes, yes you are. Which makes me wonder, how did you managed to get out of the hospital without being caught?" he asked half curious, half suspicious.

"I kinda got a bit of help"

"Really? From who?" he was trying to think who might have helped her as everyone knew what would happen if they disobeyed Regina's orders.

"An old friend" she answered evasively. She was looking anywhere but his eyes, and when he finally met her gaze she sighed defeated "Hook"

"Hook?" he said startled. She just nodded and went to sit on the couch, followed by a very disconcerted Whale "The same Hook that you tried to kill?"

"No I didn't" she replied quickly.

"Oh right, because strangling someone usually means _Hey, how is it going" _he said sarcastically and rising his brows.

"If I had wanted to kill him, he would've been dead by now" she said crossing her arms and sticking her chin out defiantly.

"Good to know. And you wander why they didn't want to let you out" he muttered those last words but, she had heard them perfectly clear.

"I wouldn't hurt anyone. Especially if they've done nothing to me" she said that, meeting his eyes with her own, deadly serious.

"I know" he said. And he really did, because even though she had attacked Hook, she didn't seem to have evil in her "Which brings me to my next question, what did Hook do to you that makes you hate him so much?" he saw her eyes changing into something darker and empty. She curled her legs under her, as though she could be safer that way.

"He" she coughed a bit trying to find her voice "He traded me to Pan for a free pass out of Neverland" Whale could not relate the image he had of the pirate and the man that had done such horrible thing "And I don't know if you've ever met him but, he's, well he was, a total psychopath" it was clear that those memories where still fresh as she shuddered a bit in her sit "He hunted me down, for months. I don't really know how I managed to survive. I guess that not sleeping helped me getting some start on him and his lost boys..." she let out a bitter chuckle.

They remained in silence for a long time, neither of them knowing what to say. He stood up from his seat and went to the kitchen. When he returned, he was carrying two glasses in which he had poured a generous amount of whiskey and he silently offered one to her.

"What is this?" she asked half smiling.

"Just a powerful medicine that can help you sleep, forget and even see things on the bright side with only a couple of side effects" he returned the smile and gave a sip to his drink feeling the liquor warming his throat "Although, it has one significant disadvantage"

"Really? Which one?" she humored him.

"It only lasts till the next morning" and with that, they gave a long sip to their drinks, hoping to get some peace from their own demons. Even if it was just for one night.

* * *

The next morning, when Whale woke up with a terrible headache and looked around him, he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face.

Gwen was curled up at the bottom of his bed and across it, with the bedspread covering her and letting out soft sighs that where very similar to snores. He rubbed his tired eyes and yawned as quietly as he could to avoid waking her up.

Without making a sound, he left the bed and walked to his kitchen to make some coffee. And he was about to drink it when someone knocked on his door several times. He almost chocked when he heard the voices that were behind it.

"Whale, open the door" commanded in an annoyed voice a very impatient Regina. He felt his eyes widening and let out a curse. He looked around the room, to make sure that there was nothing that would reveal Gwen's presence.

When they knocked again, harder if possible, he hurried to open it "Alright, alright I'm coming!"

As soon as he opened the door, Regina walked in, almost pushing him aside, as though she was the owner.

"Please, get in" said him mockingly. With an apologetic look, David and Emma got in as well. He closed the door and turned to face them, crossing his arms to avoid making anything that would show his nervousness.

"Long night doctor?" said Regina nodding at the two empty glasses. _"Oh, crap" _he thought but, replied as if that was entirely normal.

"Indeed, and I would appreciate if any of you told me about this meddling. Especially since it's my free day" he didn't bother to hide the defiant edge on his voice. Regina raised a brow and was about to scowl him but, Emma said:

"We need your help to find her"

"I don't see how I could be of much help" he avoided Emma's gaze as he was well aware of her "superpower".

"You're the only one who's got access to the security cameras of the hospital, right?" said David.

"Yeah but, it would only tell us what we already know. That she's gone" he was trying to persuade them from seeing the videos as he knew what they would see. Hook, helping Gwen to scape.

"Somebody helped her, and we want to know who it was" said Regina with that characteristic sadist smile of hers. Knowing that his best option was to do as they said, he nodded and said:

"Okay, just give me a couple of minutes to put something on" he was about to open his bedroom's door but instead, turned his head slightly to them "Would you mind to wait outside?" they looked at him confused but did as he had asked for.

When he got in, he saw her still asleep, which made him wonder for a fleeting moment how much did she have last night to be so deeply asleep. He grabbed the first shirt and pair of trousers that he found and wrote a note for her, in case that she woke up before he was back.

Once in the outside, he locked the door and went to meet the others. As he went down the stairs, he was trying to figure out how the hell he was going to keep them from seeing the video.

* * *

By the time Gwen opened her eyes, the effects of the whiskey had disappeared, for which she was grateful.

She stretched her body and sighed pleased with the warmness of the bedspread. It had been a while since she had slept that good. Actually, it had been a while since she had slept at all.

Not wanting to leave her little piece of heaven, she rolled over her stomach. With her eyes half open, she spotted something yellow and squared next to her. Curious, she took it and started to read what was written on it.

_Gwen, _

_I've had to go out to sort some things out, I'll be back as soon as I can. _

_Don't let anyone in._

_Victor_

"Great" she said to no one in particular "Now what do I do?" she looked around noticing for the first time where she was.

It was a not very big room, with very few furniture and a big window. It seemed like nobody lived in it. There wasn't anything that seemed personal, in fact, she would've described it as cold if it wasn't for the bed. That, was the only thing in there that seemed _good, _specially thanks to the warm colors of the sheets and pillows.

Once she found the strength to leave the bed, she walked out of the room. Getting into the living room which, was connected to the kitchen, she looked at every single thing in it, half afraid half curious of what they might be for.

She decided that it'd better not to touch anything till he came back. And so, she looked for something with which she could distract herself and found a shelf with lots of books. Most of them were about medicine but, she found a title that caught her attention _"__Frankenstein" _and started to read it.

* * *

"I'm back!" said Whale once he closed the door. As nobody answered, he left the bags on the floor and searched for her in every room. When he got into the bedroom, he found her sitting on the bed, her legs bended against her chest and holding a book on her hands.

When she looked at him and sent a warm and calm smile as she said "Welcome back" he thought that it'd be nice to have that everyday. To have someone waiting for you, that would smile at you just because she's happy to see you.

She closed the book and jumped off the bed, letting him see a good portion of her bare legs in the process. He found himself eager to see more of her soft, creamy skin but, the confused look on her face drew him back to reality. He coughed a bit and said "Yeah, sorry I had to leave in that way"

"Don't be, I'm sure that it was important" she said.

"Amm, are you hungry? ? 'Cause I've brought some dinner" he said as he turned to avoid her kind gaze. He felt kinda bad for having impure thoughts about her when she seemed so nice.

"I'm starving" replied her and followed him to the kitchen. He grabbed the bags from where he had left them, and took the things he had bought at Granny's.

"Okay so, we've got hamburger, double cheese hamburger, french fries potatoes and a bit of salad" he put everything in front of her and saw how she inhaled with her eyes closed, the delicious smell of the food.

"Smells like heaven" she said with a sigh.

"And tastes even better" he added grinning at her.

She grabbed one of the hamburgers and gave a big bite. She closed her eyes again, feeling the mixture of flavors in her mouth. It was the best thing she had tasted in almost a two years. She let out a pleased moan that made Whale look at her delighted expression. He was finding pretty hard to eat anything when he could not even remove his gaze from her.

"You're going to eat that?" she asked him nodding at the hamburger before him that had remained untouched. It took him a few seconds to process what she was actually saying, and when he did, he shook his head and saw her grab it "Thanks"

He thought that he could starve to death only to see her eat like she was doing now. It was like heaven and hell, all mixed up.

"So, how's been your day?" she asked between bites.

"Good. Try the french fries" he said putting them closer to her. She picked one and bit it clearly enjoying it. And he thought he would die when she licked her fingers, one by one to clean them from the sauce.

"Why aren't you eating?" she asked with her thumb in her mouth. He swallowed hard and said:

"I ate something on the way back" she accepted his answer and kept eating.

"Whoa, I don't think I've ever eaten something so good" she declared once she finished with hamburgers.

"_Wait till I give you ice-cream, that should be something worth seeing"_

* * *

**Well, that was it. I really hope that you liked it.  
**

**And please leave some comments if you can so that I can know if I'm doing it right or not :D**

**Thanks for reading!**

**C.A.**


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